Plastic and Food Safety: Is It Dangerous to Store Food in Plastic Containers? Are Plastics Poisoning Our Food?

Putting your food in plastic containers to store in the fridge, or to heat (or cook) in the microwave: is it safe?  What about buying food that has been packaged in plastic - has that food been compromised?  Does plastic poison food and make the food toxic or carcinogenic?

1.  Answer:  No One Knows - But Some Are Worried

It's pretty much a given among those in both the food and packaging industries that any food that is put into plastic (wrapped, boxed, whatever) will have some of that plastic "leach" or "migrate" into the food.  It's even got a name:  "inevitable transfer."

Doesn't that make you feel safe already?  


In a quote on WebMD, a researcher from Tufts University is quoted, explaining that "virtually all" food that is put into plastic will have trace amounts of plastic leach or migrate into the food.  Heat the food, and this increases.  Also, put certain types of food in plastic and there will be more transfer than with other types of food:  fats, acids, and salts boost the transfer dance.

When asked how much gets from the plastic to the food to our bodies, the Tufts researcher replied that no one really knows -- no research exists to give us an answer to that question.

It gets better.  According to the senior scientist with the EnvironmentalWorking Group, also quoted by WebMD, when food containers are considered "safe" these days, it's not because they have been proved to be safe, but because they have not been proven to be dangerous.  That's a big difference. 

BPA Is Scary

BPA is found in lots and lots of plastic food packaging, and (surprise) it was considered safe until some folk looked a little deeper into the issue and decided that maybe BPA isn't so safe after all.

Scientists are already warning that BPA may be toxic to humans - and while lots of warnings have gone out about water bottles made with BPA, the bigger issue is the BPA that is found in canned foods.  These days, lots of cans are lined with plastic and then food is put in them.  The BPA in that plastic can lining is already known to leach into the food AND into the human body.  What happens then?  No one knows the whole story yet but it is known that BPA will mess with human hormones, particularly estrogen.

Phthalates Are Scary, Too

Phthalates is a name given to a bunch of chemicals used in all sorts of stuff, and today it's sad but true that these phthalates ("THAL-ates") float around in the indoor dust we breathe.  Already, most Americans have phthalates in their bodies according to research studies by the Center for Disease Control, and they are serious even that they've been banned in Europe for several years now.

How does this stuff get into our bodies?  Get this:  it's not clear.  Some think it comes through what we eat, from plastic packaging for example.

What is known is that phthalates also mess with human hormones, in this case, testosterone.

Oh, and cooking in Teflon?  While I was reading up on this, I ran across a warning on WebMD that warns to never cook on non-stick cookware with a pet bird in the kitchen, because the fumes from overheated non-stick cookware can kill the bird "in seconds."

Oh, that makes me feel safe. 

2  What to Do?  Avoid Plastic as Much as Possible, Of Course.


Here are some 15 tips to get Plastics Out of Your Food:

1.  cook in cast iron
2.  avoid a microwave
3.  if you must use a microwave, then wrap your food in paper towels when heating and place on a real plate, not a plastic one
4.  use wax paper to wrap food for storing in the fridge (get some rubber bands, it helps)
5.  save glass jars and reuse them for food storage
6.  eat off of glass plates
7.  drink out of glassware not plastic
8. use metal forks, knives, and spoons (or wooden ones for cooking)
9. throw out your plastic stuff
10.  don't use parchment paper -- it's covered with a "Non-Stick"coating and that is silicon and it's sometimes got some sulfuric acid, too.  It's not just paper. 
11. buy fresh food as much as possible
12. observe how food is packaged and avoid plastic packaging as much as possible, especially plastic bottles
13. once home, store all food in non-plastic containers
14. do not cook with plastic stuff (microwave plates, plastic spoons, nonstick ware)
15.  do not eat with plastic stuff (plastic plates, glasses, etc.) - get paper plates if you don't want to wash dishes!

Sources (in addition to the above hyperlinks):

WebMD (and links therein)
FDA
Harvard.edu (and links therein)
Univ of Houston (and links therein)
NIH

Six Ways to Maximize Your Car's Gas Mileage

Of course, the best way to maximize your car's gas mileage is to use alternative transportation: subways, trains, buses, bikes, use your feet ... but if you live in some areas of the country (like San Antonio), mass transportation isn't always available as an option and you need to drive your vehicle. Fuel efficiency becomes very important when you have to drive to work or school. Here are some ways to help get the most bang for your gas buck:

1. Keep your tires inflated - a little bit extra helps. It takes more gas to drive a vehicle that does not have its tires inflated to the proper air pressure. What's the right pressure? Check the manual or the little sticker on the inside of your driver's door panel to find the number. Then, buy an air pressure gauge and follow the directions. Don't buy the cheapest model, either: a gauge that cost a bit more will be much more accurate.

There are also those who advocate putting a little extra air into your tires: it's true that a little bit over the manual's reccommended amount will not harm the tire and may help with mileage. It's also true that it means literally a little less rubber meeting the road, which makes for a slippery and more dangerous ride. Careful here.

2. Keep up with your regular car care (esp. oil, air filters, spark plugs). Change that oil every 3000 miles (there are all those quickie drive-thru places around town, this isn't that big a deal); and make sure you keep up with your manual's scheduled tune-ups, too.

Fresh spark plugs and air filters can make a big difference on mileage: change the air filter every 4 months, and if you want to be zealous about it, buy a cloth one instead of paper. They are more expensive, but they work better. (You can purportedly up your fuel efficiency by 10% just by changing out your air filters regularly.) Spark plugs should be replaced regularly as well. Again, don't go for the cheapest option: spark plugs are the gizmos that literally light your car's fire (actually, the air/gas combo in your engine) and those that do an efficient job of this make for better gas mileage.

3. Monitor Your Wheel Alignment. Just driving over a couple of surprising speed bumps in the road can mess with your car's wheel alignment. Potholes, jumping the curb, and just extended, normal driving can compromise wheel alignment - which essentially means that one of tires is wanting to go slightly one way, while the rest are wanting to go another. The result drains your fuel efficiency, as well as wears down the tires and makes the car a bit harder to drive.

How to check? In a careful section of road, point your car straight ahead and start moving forward. If the car turns itself to the right or the left, you've got an alignment problem. Get it fixed. It doesn't cost much.

4. Use Fuel Injection Formula. This stuff is a magic potion that is added to your fuel tank -- at some stations, it's offered as part of the purchase by those annoying automated voices. Cost is minimal, and the gook will go thru the fuel system, cleaning up the fuel injectors.

Why do you care? Fuel injectors should be spraying a mist of gas, not a splat - but that is what happens if they aren't really clean. Over time, they will get gunky. The Fuel Injection Formula cleans out that gunk. Wait though: once you've added it, you're not done. Get out on the road, and gun the engine a few times. Pedal to the metal, in a good way (don't go over the speed limit, of course) to get that potion circulating well. Do this monthly.

5. Drive Smart and Plan Your Routes. The faster you drive, the more gas you use. The more air conditioning you use, ditto. Stopping and starting in traffic just burns up your gas budget, as does rapid acceleration.

What to do? If you can, plan to run errands earlier in the day so you don't have to run the car's air conditioner the whole time. Take routes that keep you out of traffic jams and intersections where you know you'll take awhile to get thru the red light. Drive slower overall, and learn to keep some space between you and the cars ahead: it saves gas to slowly come to a stop when needed, instead of pushing (or slamming) the brakes so you can stay a maximum speed for as long as you can.

6. Get That Junk Out of the Trunk. Your car is a transportation machine, and it will carry whatever is placed within its frame - and the heavier the car, the more gas it will need to do this job. So, don't carry along anything you don't have to take with you. Car trunks and truck beds should not be portable storage facilities. Store just your emergency stuff (flares, first aid kits, spare tire, etc.) and discipline yourself to keeping it lean and mean.

Rising Oil Prices - What They Mean to Your Family

There's a great post over at SmartMoney about oil prices rising to $100 a barrel -- expect:

1. Rising Gas Prices -- it will cost more to drive your car

2. Rising Heating Cost -- it will cost more to heat your home (less if you heat with natural gas)

3. Rising Cost to Fly -- airline tickets will rise

4. Rising Shipping Costs -- transportation costs will also impact the cost of groceries, clothes, etc. because it will cost more to get the product onto the shelf.

Go read the article for details, as well as links for things like cutting energy costs.

If you want to learn more about oil - especially the peak oil issue - then I recommending reading this post over at Mighty Bargain Hunter. As always, MBH gives lots and lots of good info.

Products Made From Petroleum: YIKES!!

With gas prices rising, there's lots of talk about how to be more efficient with the car. There's car pooling. There's doing errands in a strategized way (no more zig-zagging around town). Some are taking the bus to work, and yesterday I saw a neighbor rolling a shiny new wheelie cart of groceries home from the store.

These are all great things, but Big Oil impacts our daily lives much more than in our gas tanks. According to Rankin Energy, one 42-gallon barrel of oil creates 19.4 gallons of gasoline. The rest of that barrel goes into making other products - Rankin estimates there are over 6000 items using oil in their manufacturing.

Here's a partial list of products with petroleum as an ingredient (this is only a small sample):

nylon zippers
ballet tights
plastic hangers
pantyhose
permanent press clothing
flip flops/thongs
fake fur
polyester clothing
ball point pens
ink
computer diskettes
computers
copiers
magic markers
telephones
microfilm
cameras
earphones
footballs
knitting needles
tennis racquets
golf balls
baby aspirin
stuffed animals
band aids
Vaseline
rubbing alcohol
Pepto-Bismol
hair coloring
soap
cough syrup
hair spray
lipstick
denture adhesives
trash bags
egg cartons
freezer bags
candles
wax paper
nylon spatulas
Teflon pans
Formica
linoleum
garden hoses
plungers
floor wax
Plexiglas
spray paint
Anti-freeze
balloons
dog toys
flea collars
CDROMs
check book covers
shopping bags
video cassettes
credit cards
dice
watch bands


Sources: Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Rankin Energy

See also: 16 CFR 1700 (February 16, 1997)(OnlineDOCID:fr26fe97-25)(Consumer Product Safety Commission, Proposed RuleMaking: Household Products Containing Petroleum Distillates and Other
Hydrocarbons)